The Powerball is a thriving business right now. It seems like every other month there is a 200+ million dollar jackpot, which is the only time I play. One has to wonder, if you ever came into that kind of money, what would you do with it. The most common answer is early retirement, of course, but after doing a lot of thinking about the idea, I determined there are many better things a person could do with that kind of money. If i ever came up with those magical numbers, I would definitely take care of myself, my close friends, and my family, but there are things I would do also that would help take care of my locality and state, and hopefully I can even stretch my hand of good faith to the great United States as well. Here are the things I would do with 200 million dollars over the next few years of my life.
1. Call my lawyer - There are hundreds of pages of fine print that go along with coming into that kind of money. Even if you are super smart, having a lawyer is the best thing you can do, to understand what is going on. You have 200 million dollars now, you can afford it. A lawyer will also help to ensure that businessmen and politicians don't try to sweet talk you into investing or funding something that may lose you everything. You will be very popular once you have that money.
2. Pay my taxes - Large lottery winnings are taxed at a ball park amount of 51%. On a 200 million dollar jackpot (which is what we will be using for a reference for the remainder of the article), that will leave you with around 98 million dollars, which is not a bad number at all. You can do a lot with that much money still, and your state and federal government will very happy with you.
3. Open a savings account to live on - The rumor is that if you put 11 million dollars in a savings account, you can just live on the interest. On the national average, which is a paltry 0.21%, that brings you to $23,100, which is....livable. You do have to keep in mind you'd only have fuel and utilities and food to pay, with that kind of money you'd have everything paid off. However, if you're coming forward with 11 million dollars, I promise you that you will not be offered an average rate. That is not for high rollers by any means. The highest savings account interest rate in the country right now is at the Pioneer Muslim Federal Credit Union, and it's at 3.03%. With as many bank out there that are going to be fighting over you, I would like to believe that this will be a little closer to the interest rate that you are going to get paid. With a rate like that, you're looking closer at an interest income of around $333,300. THAT is a healthy income, and your taxes and all your bills will definitely be paid all the time. Plus, whatever you don't use will go back into your account and draw even more interest.
4. Buy a house - Just something modest. It will be on the beach, but on Lake Michigan's beach, not the Pacific Ocean. We gotta keep the taxes down. Nothing huge, I have no need for 12 bedrooms. A nice 3 bedroom in Carol Beach will make my point just fine. 15 grand in property tax every year, not a hard pill to swallow and still get to wake up on the lake. I would also plan on taking out a mortgage, but then just paying it off the next month...just to build credit.
5. Buy cars - who, among the people who know me, didn't know this was coming. A nice truck, but not brand new, so I can still work on it at home without having to go nuts on specialty tools. A couple nice projects, and maybe one nice newer car to drive around in the winter, like a Taurus SHO or something. Knowing myself, the projects would just cycle through...buy something, modify/restore it, drive it for a while, get bored with it, mark it up for the modifications and repairs I made to it, and sell it and buy something else. If i do it right, I can make some pretty good money off of this practice without too big of an investment. I'd probably have to register as a business though and pay taxes on it, which actually wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. Another way to support my state and federal government, and a good way to even potentially generate some income that we can add to the savings account.
6. Pay off all debts, public and private - The biggest thing about winning a lot of money, is the fact that you get a chance to start over. I'd pay off my debts, my parents, and my best friend's.
7. Buy Trucks - This is the first step I would take to start making my money work for me. I'd take a trip down to Illinois and find my local M&K Dealership (to hell with the Krietes, if I won the lottery, they wouldn't get any of my money) and buy some tractors. 10 brand new Volvo VNL64Ts. Next I'd buy 10 brand new refrigerated 53 foot trailers, and put one on each tractor. The logical next step would be to hire 10 truck drivers, offer them a little more than the current going rate for mileage for company paid drivers, and lease them out to various companies around the area. A minimum of 3 would be leased to Birchwood, as I know that as badly as they pay their employees, their lease rate is very competitive. For the current time, I'd keep all 10 leased out, but this is not a permanent move
8. Build a garage - If you're gonna have trucks, you need a shop. I'm ok with Dealerships doing the first few services, but I'm eventually gonna need a shop to get employees to do the work for me. Best thing to do would be to get a couple acres on the interstate, build a building with 10 bays brand new, include two oil change pits, make sure all bays are drive through, and stock it with any specialty tool I can find. Next, hire some mechanics, and undercut every other truck stop's service rate by 20 bucks. I'd make sure to get some manufacturer certified guys, and start looking into at least one dealer license down the road, but for the most part, just leave it as is. Another good "down the road" would be to think about putting a convenience store and an overnight lot in. But that can wait a few years.
9. Invest in small business - Putting money into businesses is often a good idea, and doing it by small business keeps it local. It keeps income taxes, and earned dollars local, too. Some people have some good ideas, just don't have the capital to put them into action. In addition to putting yourself into a place to earn money off of your investment, thereby making your money work for you, you help to employ people in your community. When more people in the community are employed, they spend more money in the community. They also pay taxes to your municipality, as I mentioned earlier. The small businesses can (note I did not say "will") expand into larger businesses, and employ more people, and the cycle continues. This will eventually make your community a nicer place to be, as the increase in local revenue, and increase in sales in the area increase margins for local government. It really is a win-win, provided you choose investees who are responsible and will use your money wisely. One thing to keep in mind, if you are skeptical about the company, but you still want to chance it, buy 51% into it. That way, if they do start to run rampant with your money and be irresponsible, you have the chance and the right to come into it and take the reins if you need to.
10. Buy a restaurant - In spite of the fact that this is my intended career path, this was toward the end of the list for a reason. Before I go into my passion, I want to have enough of my money out there, working for me, and be sure it's working for me and earning money before I take a risk in myself. This also leaves me the opportunity to monitor my small business investments, and leaves me the time to take over the ones who are being irresponsible if I need to. I have my savings account earning me a living, and the house and the truck are paid for, so earning a steady paycheck isn't a great priority at first. Once all my businesses are earning me a healthy paycheck and on the right track, then I will pursue my dream.
11. Finally, set up 3 full scholarships - College can be tough to pay for. And there are some who are brilliant, but could use the financial help. I would love to make sure 3 kids a year, who are the brightest and most brilliant, but are in hard places, get an education. I'd do one for 4 year, one for tech school, and one for trade school. I'd also pay the way for my nephew, but that's just a given.
Just because you win a huge amount on lottery never means you have to retire. That's just what you always hear about. If you do it right, and know who you're dealing with, you can turn a hundred million into a hundred billion or more, so why not make the world better for everyone??
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